Ultralight and Highly Elastic Graphene/Lignin-Derived Carbon Nanocomposite Aerogels with Ultrahigh Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance

Ultralight and highly elastic reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/lignin-derived carbon (LDC) composite aerogels with aligned micron-sized pores and cell walls are prepared using a facile freeze-drying method. The presence of a small fraction of LDC in the cell walls enhances the interfacial polarization effect while almost maintaining the amount of charge carriers and conductivity of the cell walls, greatly boosting the wave absorption capability of the cell walls. RGO/LDC aerogels also show a greater number of large cell walls with better integrity than RGO aerogels, further improving the multiple reflection ability of the aligned cell walls. Synergistic effects of the multiphase cell walls and the preferred microstructures of the RGO/LDC aerogels lead to their high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of 21.3–49.2 dB at an ultralow density of 2.0–8.0 mg/cm3. This corresponds to the surface-specific SE (SE divided by density and thickness) up to 53 250 dB·cm2/g, which is higher than the values reported for other carbon- and metal-based shields. Furthermore, the critical roles that microstructures play in determining the EMI shielding performance are directly revealed by comparing the shielding performance in directions parallel and normal to cell walls, as well as in an in situ compression process.